Ellis and Branford Marsalis to take Canadian songwriters gala stage
Father and son to perform Oscar Peterson favourite
U.S. jazz icons Ellis and Branford Marsalis have signed on to perform at a tribute to the late Oscar Peterson next weekend at the 2008 Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame gala.
New Orleans jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis, the patriarch of a family of acclaimed musicians, will join his Grammy Award-winning saxophonist son Branford on stage at Saturday's ceremony in Toronto.
Father and son will perform Wheatland, one of Peterson's Canadiana Suite compositions and reportedly one of the late pianist's personal favourites.
Ellis Marsalis originally learned Wheatland for a Canadian tour during the 1990s. Saturday's performance will be the first time he and his son have played the song together in public.
Peterson, who died Dec. 23, will be honoured at the ceremony with the Frank Davies Legacy Award, which celebrates his "work and its significant impact on the development and recognition of Canadian songwriters both nationally and internationally."
The ceremony will also toast a quartet of inductees: Ottawa-born crooner Paul Anka, big band songwriter Alex Kramer, and francophone songwriters André Lejeune and Claude Dubois.
More than 20 musical works, including songs made famous by this year's inductees, will also join the Hall of Fame. They include:
- Peterson's Canadiana Suite and Hymn to Freedom.
- Anka's Diana, Put Your Head on My Shoulder, My Way, It Doesn't Matter Anymore and She's a Lady.
- Anna McGarrigle's Heart Like a Wheel.
In addition to Ellis and Branford Marsalis, the gala stage will also host performances by Peterson's childhood friend and acclaimed pianist Oliver Jones, jazz vocalist Dione Taylor, gospel choir The Faith Chorale, Quebec artists Les Respectables and Boom Desjardins, producer David Foster and singer Jully Black.
It will also be a family affair onstage, with sibling musicians Martha and Rufus Wainwright (McGarrigle's niece and nephew) and Lily Lankin (McGarrigle's daughter) set to perform.
Elements of the fifth annual gala, hosted by entertainer Gregory Charles, will be broadcast on CBC Radio Two on Sunday, and on CBC Radio One and CBC Television on Monday.